Tag: Religion

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: When anyone mentions the Mahabharata, there are some key characters who are usually hero-worshiped by all fans of the work. Krishna The mastermind behind the whole sequence of events that unfolded. The apple of everyone’s eyes. And one of the few characters who was cordial with almost everyone on both…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: I don’t endorse the idea of ‘Indian culture’. There is no such thing as ‘Indian culture’ whereby you have a bulleted lists of things to do and things not to do. Unlike other nations, India is a land of diverse cultures and things change when we move from one region…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: Even if one attempts to draw a line, it’s going to be very blurry. If one puts aside the matters of temple worship and all associated things, most quintessentially ‘Indian’ things are nothing but cultural. Off late, the word ‘Hindu’ has come to mean people belonging to the ‘Hindu religion’,…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: I believe that He is very much married. In all Nair ancestral homes, it was customary to have a serpent grove in the woods around the house. The idols kept for worship in these groves are those of Nagaraja (Vasuki), Nagayakshi and several other smaller idols representing their daughter, Nagakanyaka,…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon; Owing to the fact that Sanatana Dharma has no diktats when it comes to food, I think this is largely a matter of personal preference. It may be different for different people. I, for instance, do consume non-vegetarian food in very small quantities. The quantity doesn’t matter really. What matters…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: I cannot be a voice for all Hindus the world over, so I’ll speak just for myself. I won’t feel anything about anyone sporting a tattoo about anything at all…provided they give it the respect the symbol deserves. When getting a tattoo from a culture that’s not their own, it…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: Age of Kerala Strictly speaking, the state of ‘Kerala’ was formed only on November 1, 1956. Until then, it was just a region comprising of three princely states- Malabar, Kochi & Thiruvithamkoor – and several baronial estates. As per Hindu mythology, there are only a handful of mentions to the…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon; I have always believed that Yudhishthira was absolutely correct in his judgement about his wife and his brothers during the Mahaprasthanika Parva events. It’s not like he is blaming anyone. He is just stating facts to a curious and shocked Bheema. Draupadi had wanted to marry Arjuna even before she…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: I feel that both are important, provided each gives space to the other. My views on this are entirely my own and I don’t advocate it to anyone. It’s just my take on it. To me religion and science is like the heart and the brain. In life there are…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: I believe that’s largely subjective, if I may say so. Though both authors write about fantastical worlds, there is a marked difference in their works. When Tolkien writes about mythical creatures like elves and dwarves and hobbits, Amish’s fantasy world is one which has characters lifted directly off some of…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: Ah! Time to share some of my all time favorites 🙂 I haven’t studied Sanskrit, and so my knowledge of shlokas is limited to the prayers, chants that I have grown up listening to, reciting and loving. Sources to the shlokas can be seen the footnotes below. Here are my…

Answer by Raakhee V. Menon: It’s something that has been building up over the past week. Today, I just lost my temper and decided to write about it, which seems to be the best way to get it out of my system. Yeah, that’s how I’ve been lately. So I wrote an answer last week…